This week, we'll augment our series of lessons about animal names with some basic vocabulary related to plants. Yabla has many videos about the natural world, so it's not so hard to get a good overview. It is also most fitting to the season, with everything currently in full bloom in Germany.

Diese setzt sich aus Gras, Früchten, Wurzeln, Zweigen und Rinde zusammen.

This consists of grass, fruits, roots, branches, and bark.

Caption 30, Evolution: An Land

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Der perfekt getarnte Hühnervogel ernährt sich von Knospen, Samen, Beeren und Wurzeln.

The perfectly camouflaged landfowl feeds on buds, seeds, berries, and roots.

Captions 13-14, Die letzten Paradiese Schätze der Natur: Südtirol

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„Es heißt“, sagte Piggeldy, „Blume, Kopf und Stängel“.

"They are called," said Piggeldy, "flower, head, and stem."

Caption 12, Piggeldy und Frederick: Blume

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Like in English, some vocabulary is more specific to trees:

Jetzt bin ich hinter dem Baumstamm.

Now I'm behind the tree trunk.

Caption 12, Diane erklärt: Präpositionen

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Doch der Mäusebussard auf dem Ast hat die scheue Katze nur aufgeschreckt.

But the common buzzard on the branch just startled the shy cat.

Caption 22, Alpenseen: Kühle Schönheiten

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A leaf, whether it's the leaf of a tree, a plant, or even a leaf of paper, is das Blatt in German. The plural is die Blätter. 

Im Oktober fallen die ersten Blätter und der Herbst beginnt.

In October, the first leaves fall and autumn begins.

Caption 30, Deutsch mit Eylin: Wochentage, Monate und Jahreszeiten

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Dazu zupfe ich von meinem Basilikumtopf ein paar Blätter ab

For this, I pluck off a few leaves from my basil pot

Caption 30, Cannelloni: mit Jenny

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Es macht halt Spaß, und halt nicht vor ein einem Blatt Papier zu stehen, und jede Aufgabe zehn mal abzuschreiben.

It's just fun, and just to not be standing in front of a sheet of paper and copying each task ten times.

Captions 92-93, Nena: Das 1x1 mit den Hits von NENA

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Further Learning
If you have plants in your home or nearby, see if you can describe them with the vocabulary above from Yabla German. You can also read our lesson on gardening vocabulary. 

Many of us are living in countries with shopping restrictions due to health measures taken during the coronavirus pandemic, meaning we may need to shop for many things we need on the internet. The word bestellen, most commonly translated in this context as "to order," has thus become an especially important term this year.

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Diesen Film können Sie als DVD unter folgender Adresse im Internet bestellen.

You can order this film on DVD at the following web address.

Caption 18, Bibliothek der Sachgeschichten - Müllmännerlied

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We also use bestellen when ordering food in a restaurant, although these days that usually means ordering food for takeaway: 

Die Tochter hat Pizza bestellt...

My daughter ordered pizza...

Caption 82, Weihnachtsinterviews - Cettina in Linkenheim

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Möchten Sie denn schon was zu trinken bestellen?

Would you like to order something to drink now?

Caption 10, Abendessen - mit Marko

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Although bestellen is most commonly used to mean "to order" something, there are also a number of other contexts where the verb is used that require a different translation altogether. Quite differently from the English "to order," where something will be coming to you, the German bestellen can also be used to send out greetings (Grüße bestellen) or to ask someone to say thank-you for you: 

Bestellt dem Marquis meinen herzlichsten Dank!

Send the Marquis my most heartfelt thanks!

Caption 41, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der gestiefelte Kater

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Bestellen Sie dem Feldmarschall von Kluge,

Tell Field Marshall von Kluge

ich danke für das in mich gesetzte Vertrauen.

I thank him for the trust he places in me.

Captions 55-56, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944

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In the context of biology, you can use bestellen with the preposition um to describe the condition of a species: 

Um die seltene Marmorata-Forelle ist es schlechter bestellt...

Regarding the rare marble trout, it looks worse...

Caption 29, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten

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Jetzt interessiert mich das aber doch, wie's um den Bestand bestellt ist.

Now, however, I'm interested indeed in how the population is doing.

Caption 5, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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Further Learning
Take a look at all of the meanings of bestellen on the Duden website and search for bestellt and bestellen on Yabla German to see other ways the word is used in different contexts.

In German, there are a number of prepositions that can be translated as "to" to express movement from one place to another: nach, zu, in, an, and auf. Often it is difficult to know which one to use in what context and with what type of place, and you simply have to memorize certain patterns. This week, let's begin with the preposition nach. 

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We use nach when the destination is a city, and also for most countries. However, there are some exceptions to this in which in is used with countries, for example, with die Türkei, die Schweiz, and die Vereinigten Staaten (As you may remember, some countries have genders in German). And keep in mind that the preposition in is used when the destination is die Stadt ("the city" or "the town") or das Dorf ("the village"). 

Ihre Nachkommen wanderten auch nach Italien und Österreich aus.

Their offspring also migrated  to Italy and Austria.

Caption 26, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten

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Er will in die Schweiz reisen. Schön, was noch?

He wants to travel to Switzerland. Nice, what else?

Caption 37, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Über jemanden sprechen

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Hi, ich bin Marie. Ich bin gerade mit Julia nach Berlin gezogen.

Hi, I'm Marie. I just moved to Berlin with Julia.

Caption 3, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch

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Eines Tages machte sich der Kaufmann auf den Weg in die Stadt, um Geld zu verdienen.

One day, the Merchant set out for town in order to earn some money.

Caption 9, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Schöne und das Biest

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Nach is also used for cardinal directions and with "left," "right," "up," and "down."

Es drehte sich nach links... -Und du? -und dann nach rechts.

He turned to the left... -And you? -and then to the right.

Caption 18, Meine Freundin Conni - Conni schläft im Kindergarten

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Der Russe dreht mit starken Kräften westlich der Düna nach Norden ein.

The Russians are turning west of the Daugava River towards the north with strong forces.

Caption 25, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944 

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Another rule: while we say "go/drive/come home" in English, the equivalent phrase in German has a preposition: nach Hause + verb.

Und als der Bär nach Hause kam, machten sie sich einen gemütlichen Abend.

And when the bear came home, they had a cozy evening.

Captions 37-38, Janoschs Traumstunde - Post für den Tiger

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Further Learning
We will cover the other prepositions used to express movement from one place to another in coming newsletters. Pay attention to how "to" is translated with various places and directions on Yabla German and stay tuned!